‘Sayyaf confined in target area’

Philippine troops, assisted by elite US Special Forces, are poised to move in for the kill as military officials said they have cornered a group of about 60 Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the mountains of Sirawai town in Zamboanga del Norte.

This developed as President Arroyo, on a visit to war-torn Basilan, reiterated her order to the military to ultimately crush the Abu Sayyaf following a tragic end to the yearlong hostage crisis.

"We have confined them (Abu Sayyaf) in what we call a target area," said Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, commander of the military’s Southern Command (Southcom).

"What we would like to do is to be able to set them up in a target spot, in a smaller spot where we can really finish them," Carolina added.

He revealed that an alternative plan is to flush the bandits out of their jungle lair in Sirawai and push them into an open area where government troops can easily pick them off.

A fourth battalion of battle-tested soldiers was pulled out from their counter-insurgency mission in Samar to reinforce the troops involved in the massive "search and destroy" operations against the Abu Sayyaf in the Zamboanga peninsula.

"We have to ensure that they don’t get away," the President told reporters after visiting the military hospital at Southcom where seven soldiers and a civilian guide were recuperating from wounds sustained during Friday’s rescue operation.

Presidential aides said Mrs. Arroyo will spend the night in Basilan, becoming the first Chief Executive to do so, to enable her to lead this morning’s flag-raising ceremonies as the country observes its 104th Independence Day.

Carolina admitted that the Abu Sayyaf main group fled the island province of Basilan earlier this year to elude a relentless military search and rescue operation for an American missionary couple and a Filipino nurse held hostage by the Muslim extremist group since the middle of last year.

The Filipino troops are being advised by 160 elite US forces as part of a six-month joint military training exercise dubbed Balikatan 02-1.

Close to 1,000 other American servicemen are on standby in nearby Zamboanga City to provide logistical and technical support, including deployment of spy planes and satellite intelligence data-sharing.

An Army patrol caught up on Friday with the Abu Sayyaf group holding the three hostages, resulting in fierce fighting that lasted for hours.

When the smoke of battle cleared, American hostage Martin Burnham of Wichita, Kansas and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap were found dead, along with at least four of their captors.

Burnham’s wife Gracia was rescued but sustained a bullet wound in the thigh.

"The main reason the hostage rescue was made possible was that they were forced to flee Basilan," Carolina said.

"They went to an area where they did not have a mastery of the terrain, unlike in Basilan," the general said. "If they move again, we will press home our advantage."

Meanwhile, the troops clashed anew with remnants of the Abu Sayyaf band in Sirawai led by Aldam Tilao alias Abu Sabaya.

The soldiers captured a wounded bandit identified as Bashir Ordonez who was apparently abandoned by his fleeing comrades.

Carolina said the Abu Sayyaf were more vulnerable now that they had no more hostages for human shields, although attack helicopters are reluctant to bomb them for fear of hitting ground forces.

More soldiers have started arriving in Zamboanga to reinforce a three-pronged attack against the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers.

While some of the troops were tracking down the tough-talking Abu Sabaya in Zamboanga del Norte, others were hunting Isnilon Hapilon in Basilan.

A third group was running after Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani in Sulu.

Carolina predicted the imminent collapse of the Abu Sayyaf after the three leaders have fallen.

In another development, an official of the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) claimed that Sabaya’s group has slipped through the military cordon in Sirawai and reached their former stronghold in the outskirts of Ipil town in Zamboanga del Sur province.

OMA executive director Habib Mujahib Hassim, quoting reports from local villagers, said Sabaya’s band has been roaming in Zamboanga del Sur.

Hassim said his office is closely working with police and military authorities in the Zamboanga peninsula to pinpoint the location of the fleeing Abu Sayyaf.

On the other hand, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front warned that the military’s sustained operations could lead to clashes with MILF rebels.

"It is possible that there might be some encounters that might erupt between us and the military," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said.

The government signed a ceasefire accord with the MILF last year, and forged a supplementary agreement last month wherein the rebel group pledged to deny sanctuary to fleeing Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

Kabalu said the accords could not be implemented because the military failed to coordinate their moves with the MILF.

"As much as possible, we will prevent any encounter with government troops, but if we are engaged, we will fight back," he said.

In a related development, Acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable vowed there would be no white-wash in the investigation on the botched rescue operation.

Afable also said it may take some time for the military’s post-operation report on Friday’s incident to be released.

He said premature disclosure of the report might prejudice ongoing operations.

To come up with a thorough report, Afable said most of the soldiers who took part in the operation would have to be interviewed.

"Maybe later, when the operations somehow die down, individual soldiers who were involved can be interviewed, but not at this point in time. We must appreciate this in the nature of a running gun battle and it is really very hard (to know whose bullets hit the hostages), unless you get the soldiers all down and interview them one by one," Afable said.

Immigration alerted on fleeing Sayyaf men

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo issued yesterday a hold departure order against five Abu Sayyaf leaders who might leave the country to evade arrest and prosecution.

Domingo issued the order following a directive from Justice Secretary Hernando Perez upon the request of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Perez said the hold departure order was imperative "so as not to frustrate the ends of justice and consistent with the nation’s stand against terrorism."

The NBI is also mulling filing of formal charges against the Abu Sayyaf leaders for the death of Martin Burnham and Yap.

Those covered by the hold departure order are Sabaya, Janjalani, Jainal Antel Sali Jr. alias Abu Solaiman, Hapilon alias Abu Musab and Hamsitaji Marusi Sali alias Jose Ramirez.

Meanwhile, opposition Sen. Vicente Sotto III filed a resolution citing the AFP for the rescue of Gracia Burnham.

"We should show our appreciation and give our Filipino soldiers high marks for their patience, courage and sacrifice during their long fight with the bandits," the resolution stated.

Sotto said the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf should be sustained and intensified to obtain lasting peace and order in the country.

After Balikatan, Carat

In Clark Field, Pampanga, some 1,000 US soldiers are set to depart the country when the Balikatan joint military exercises in Mindanao end this July, but a batch of some 4,568 more US soldiers are set to arrive in the same month to participate in another round of war games.

Jaime Yambao, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom), said yesterday the new batch of soldiers would be part of the Cooperation of Afloat Readiness Training or CARAT.

The US troops would be coming from the navy, marines, Seabees and coast guard, Yambao said, and that their counterparts from the Philippine Navy would number much less at about 1,257.

The US military would also be bringing in five warships: the USS Cincennes, USS George Philip, USS Anchorage and USS Safeguard from the US navy, and the USCG Margetheau of the US coast guard.

"The Americans would also be flying in an Orion reconnaissance plane for the protection of the forces during the joint military exercises," Yambao said.

CARAT exercises are to be held at Subic Bay, Sangley Point and in Ternate, Cavite, while civic-military operations such as medical, dental and veterinary missions have been slated in San Miguel, Bulacan and San Antonio in Zambales.

But the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) in a statement said the government is using the tragic loss of innocent lives last Friday as an excuse for the extension and expansion of Balikatan and the conduct of future military offensives in Mindanao.

"The transformation of Balikatan from ostensibly being mere training exercises and from being a joint military operation to crush a local bandit group which it actually is, into a campaign to restore peace and order in the country is disquieting," the PRRM said in a statement. — Paolo Romero, Rey Arquiza, Aurea Calica, Ricky Bautista, Ding Cervantes, AFP reports